It’s old wine, that everybody agrees, and the new bottle isn’t that flattering either. That’s the brand new professional league, or the I-League, for you. If the All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) viewpoint is to be dissected, you could come up with a simple theory for the simple game that is soccer. Things have remained as basic as they were in the NFL era. Simple, really.As of today, 14 rounds of the league have been completed, and two Goan outfits lead— Dempo with 30, 4 points clear of Churchill Brothers. JCT are in third place with 25 points and Mohun Bagan have moved to fourth with 24 points.Over to the respondents:Dempo coach Armando Colaco feels the professional league isn’t anything new. “There is no change. It is just a change in the name. The rest remains the same. To be honest, the word professionalism is there, but not the professionalism per se. What are the changes that have been made?” Talk veers to the minimum requirement issue that clubs have not been able to meet. Even the top clubs can just about boast of a practice ground (one of the pre-conditions), forget stadiums where matches can be held.“All the clubs have been asked to build a stadium and most of us are still trying to get the land. We, in Goa, are at the mercy of big corporations and the Sports Authority of Goa. If we get the ground, we get to practice and play matches. “Most clubs had never thought of having their own stadium. It was only after AIFF said that this was needed have they woken up,” he says. Then there is the question of a youth programme. “The AIFF wants all clubs to start a youth development programme, but where do you make them practice? Our ground is in horrible condition. If you say Cooperage is bad, you should see our ground.” JCT coach Sukhwinder Singh, too, fails to see the difference. “There is not much difference as far as playing conditions are concerned. The playing structure is same. The AIFF is trying to make clubs more professional by asking them to get registered as a society or as a company. It says the players should be contracted for two years (at least) and then there is the Youth Development programme. All that is very good, but apart from the money, which is somewhat more, how is the soccer different?” he asks.There is also this issue of dope testing (an AFC pre-requisite). In the footsteps of the English Premier League, the AIFF had stated that random dope tests would be conducted, but even after the end of 14 rounds not a single player has been tested. The federation man is defensive here. “The AIFF has plans to collect samples and send them to the WADA-accredited lab in Malaysia. Whether it will at all take place, and when, isn’t clear.”
